Braked rotative assembly



July 20, 1948. A. DE GHETTO BRAKED ROTATIVE ASSEMBLY Filed Feb. 18, 1947 Jfig.

INVENTOR. ANSELM De GHETTO A TTOR A E Y6 Patented July 20, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BRAKED ROTATIVE ASSEMBLY Anselm De Ghetto, Clifton, N. J., assignor to National Rubber Machinery Company, Akron, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application February 18, 1947, Serial No. 729,387

7 Claims. 1

The present invention, while relating generally as indicated to a braked rotative assembly, is more especially concerned with a material supply spool assembly which is operative to maintain a desired tension on the material being unwound therefrom, such spool assembly having particular utility in conjunction with a loom shuttle, for example, for controlling the tension of the wire or cord weft or filler. It may, of course, be used with equal facility in conjunction with other apparatus such as winders and the like.

Heretofore in the weaving of a wire braid sleeve or hose such as is used for reinforcing tubing of rubber or rubber-like material to thus increase its bursting or collapsing pressure without materially reducing its flexibility, the quality of the weave has been largely left to the skill of the operator of the machine. That is to sa that inasmuch as it is the tension of the wire which largely controls the tightness and the neatness of the weave, the control of such tension has been accomplished by inferior mechanisms which of necessity entail the constant surveillance by the operator to prevent excessive tension on the wire from tearing the shuttle out of its ways or to prevent insufficient tension from producing a non-uniform weave. The latter condition may also necessitate shutting down of the machine as when the wire is unwound from the spool more rapidly than it is used. One obstacle involved in the providing of a satisfactory tensioning means for such a spool has been the limited area in which the spool carrying shuttles revolve. Such limited area precludes the employment of outside adjusting means on the spool, and as a result structures have been developed which merely comprise a spring washer urged against an end face of the spool under the influence of a clamplug nut having threaded engagement with the projecting end of the spindle about which said spool is rotatable.

Accordingly, it is one principal object of this invention to provide an assembly of the character indicated in which the resistance to relative rotation of the elements thereof is closely and uniformly controlled without requiring the constant attention of the operator It is another object of this invention to provide a novel tensioning mechanism which is completely housed within the lateral extremities of the hub of the spool and which mechanism has associated therewith a novel bearing for accurately supporting the spool for rotation about an axis coinciding with that of the spindle.

Other objects and advantages of the invention 2 will become apparent as the following description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the annexed drawing and the following description setting forth in detail one illustrative embodiment of the invention, this being indicative, however, of but one of the various ways in which the principle of the invention may be employed.

In said annexed drawing- Fig. l is a central cross section longitudinally through the hub and spindle, such section having been taken along a line l-I, Fig. 2; and

Fig, 2 is a cross section view transversely through the hub and spindle along a lin 2-4, Fig.1.

Referring now to the drawing, there is shown therein a spool generally indicated by the numeral 1 which is rotatably supported about a spindle 2. Spool l comprises parallel circular flanges 3 secured to and projecting radially outward beyond a central hub 4, a supply of wire, cord or like material (not shown) being carried in a well-known manner by said hub and between said flanges,

The spindle 2 has one of its ends non-rotatably secured to an abutment member 5 as by a pin 5 which projects radially from a reduced end of the spindle into a keyway slot formed in abutment member 5. A nut 7 having threaded engagement with the projecting end of the spindle tightly draws the abutment member 5 against a shoulder 8 on the spindle to thus retain spindle 2 and abutment member 5 axially of one another. When this invention is embodied in a loom shuttle as aforesaid, abutment member 5 comprises the shuttle bracket. The other end of the spindle 2 extends into hub 4 and has a ring or abutment member 9 non-rotatably fitted thereover. Said abutment member 9 can be moved axially of the spindle and its outermost position is determined by the position of the nut III which has threaded engagement with that end of the spindle which projects through abutment member 9,

Having a close running fit around the spindle 2 between the abutment members 5 and 9 are axially spaced bearing members II and 12, the latter of which is formed with a sleeve portion l3 which closely embraces bearing member II. The sleeve portion I3 is also closely fitted into the hub 4. The bearing members H and I2 are preferably of bronze or'like bearing material and, as can be seen, the close running fitsbetween said bearings and the hub and the spindle assures that the spool I will be freely and accurately rotatable about an axis coinciding with that of the spindle. The axial spacing of the bearings further assures that the spool will not cock relative to the spindle.

Bearings H and I2 are held in axially spaced relation by means of a coil spring M which is compressed in the annular cavity defined between the bearings. Hub 4 is formed with an inturned flange 15 which is interposed between the portions of the bearin 12 and abutment member 5 which project radially outward from the spindle 2. With such an arrangement the adjacent surfaces I6 and ll of hub 4 and abutment member 5 are urged into frictional engagement with one another to thus resist free relative rotationof the spool and spindle. Such resistance, of course, necessitates application of tension to the material coiled on the hub in order to unwind the material therefrom. As will be evident from .Fig. 1, the amount of such resistance will becontrolled by the amount of compression of spring I i, such compression being controlled by axial adjustment ofabutment member 9 through the nut l a. While but one spring is shown, it is to be understood-that two or more springs in nested or in circumferentially spaced relation may be used. Likewise it is contemplated that means other than a coil spring 'may be used. The inter-engaging surfaces l6 and I! are preferably smoothly finished so as to avoid the possibilityofsuch. surfacesbecoming seized and scored.

The-end of hub-d which surrounds the abutment member 9 and nut It] has a hollow screw or ring'l8 threaded thereinto, suchscrew extending radially inward of the inner diameter of sleeve portion l3 of bearing [2 to thus retain bothbearing members I! and i2 and spring l4, within the spool as a unitary assembly when the nut It and abutment member '9 are removed and the spool is withdrawn axially from spindle 2. The screw i8 is positioned within the hub i to permit relative rotation of bearing member l2 .and hub 4, such relative rotation occurringas when the frictional resistance between said bearing 12- and the inturned flange 15 of said hub 4 is less than thatbetween bearing H and abutment member 9.

It is to be observed that while thefrictional resistance to rotation of the spool lis constant for any specifiedsetting-of the spring It .the tension on the material unwound from the spool'will progressively increase as the diameter of the coil thereof reduces. This progressive increase in tension is desirable in the case of wire,for example, in-order to produce a greater straightening effect when the wire is unwound from acoilof small diameter than when the wire is unwound from a coil of large diameter. Of course other straightening-devices may be used in conjunction with the spooll. In any case, the maximum and minimum tensions are within prescribed limits so as not to cause the undesirable results mentioned above.

The above described assembly-is extremely simple in design'but yet-is very efficient in operation. Furthermore this design is sufficiently compact to render it useful in'conjunction with loom shuttles or the like which are confinedto relatively small spaces.

Other modes of-applying'the principle ofthe invention may be employed,- changebeing made as regards the details described, provided the features stated in any-ofthe following claims, or the equivalent of such, be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. An assembly of the character indicated, comprising a spindle, axially spaced abutment members on said spindle, a hub encircling said spindle, said hub being formed with an inturned flange disposed between said abutment members, axially spaced bearing members within said hub and between such inturned flange and one of said abutment members for rotatably supporting said hub on said spindle, and spring means interposed between said bearing members for yieldably urging such flange of said hub into frictional engagement with the other of said abutment 'members.

2. An assembly of the character indicated, comprising a spindle, axially spaced abutment members on said spindle, axially spaced bearing members rotatable on said spindle and disposed between said abutment members, one of said bearing members including .an axially extending sleeve portion. closely fitted over the other of saidbearing members, a hub rotatably fitted over said sleeved bearing member, said hub including an inturned flange disposed between one of said abutment members and one of said bearing membersand spring means interposed between said bearing. members for. yieldably clampingsuch flange between said one of said abutment members and said one of said bearing members.

3. An assembly .of the character indicated, comprising a spindle, axially spaced abutment members non-rotatably. secured on said spindle, axially spaced bearing members on said spindle and between said abutment members yieldably urged apart in a directiontoward said abutment members, and a hub rotatably supported on said spindle by said bearing members and formedwith an inturned flangeportion interposed'between one of said abutment members and the adjacent bearing member.

4. In a loom shuttle, the combination of a'shuttle bracket, a spindle projecting therefrom, a spool rotatably supported on saidspindle and having anend face frictionally engageable with said'bracket, said spool being formed with a cupshaped recess into which said spindle extends in adirection toward the open endthereof, axially adjustable means on said spindle and'within such recess-projecting radially outward of said spindle at a region axially spaced from the bottom wall of such recess, axially spaced bearing members in such recess rotatable 'onsaidspindle and respectively disposed adjacent the bottom wall of such recess in said spool and said means on saidspindle, one of said'bea-ring members including a sleeve portion rotatably fitted in'such recess and rot-atably fitted over the other ofsaid bearing members, and spring means compressed between said bearing members for urging the endface'of said spool into frictional engagement with said bracket.

5. In a loom shuttle, the combination of ashuttle bracket, a spindle projecting therefrom, a spool rotatably supported on said spindle and having an end face frictionally engageable with said bracket, said spool being formed with a cupshaped recess intowhichsaid spindle extends in a direction-towardthe-open end thereof, axially adjustable means on said spindle and within such recess projecting radiallyoutward of said spindle at aregionaxially spaced from the bottom wall of suchrecess, axially spaced bearing members in suchrecessrotatable on said spindle and respectively disposed adjacent the bottom wall of such recess in said spool and said means on said spindle, one of said bearing members including a sleeve portion rotatably fitted in such recess and rotatably fitted over the other of said bearing members, and spring means compressed between said bearing members for urging the end face of said spool into frictional engagement with said bracket, the bearing member disposed adjacent said means being axially slidable on said spindle to thus efifect variation in the compression of the spring means in response to axial adjustment of said means.

6. In a loom shuttle, the combination of a shuttle bracket, a spindle projecting therefrom, a

spool rotatably supported on said spindle and having an end face frictionally engageable with said bracket, said spool being formed with a cupshaped recess into which said spindle extends in a direction toward the open end thereof, axially adjustable means on said spindle and within such recess projecting radially outward of said spindle at a region axially spaced from the bottom wall of such recess, axially spaced bearing members in such recess rotatable on said spindle and respectively disposed adjacent the bottom Wall of such recess in said spool and said means on said spindle, one of said bearing members including a sleeve portion rotatably fitted in such recess and rotatably fitted over the other of said bearing members, and spring means compressed between said bearing members for urging the end face of said spool into frictional engagement with said bracket, said means being axially removable from said spindle whereby said spool, bearing members, and spring means may likewise be axially removed in a direction away from said shuttle bracket.

'7. In a loom shuttle, the combination of a shuttle bracket, a spindle projecting therefrom, a

spool rotatably supported on said spindle and having an end face frictionally engageable with said bracket, said spool being formed with a cupshaped recess into which said spindle extends in a direction toward the open end thereof, axially adjustable means on said spindle and Within such recess projecting radially outward of said spindle at a region axially spaced from the bottom wall of such recess, axially spaced bearing members in such recess rotatable on said spindie and respectively disposed adjacent the bottom wall of such recess in said spool and said means on said spindle, one of said bearing members includin a sleeve portion rotatably fitted in such recess and rotatably fitted over the other of said bearing members, spring means compressed between said bearing members for urging the end face of said spool into frictional engagement with said bracket, and a ring in the open end of such recess in said spool extending radially inwardly of such recess for axially retaining said bearing members and spring means within such recess. ANSELM DE GHETTO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

